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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review

Yes! Captain America: The Winter Soldier did it! Not only does The Winter Soldier deliver as an entertaining action film, it goes far beyond that in almost every aspect. Despite my incredibly high expectations, the film actually exceeds everything that I ever expected, and it actually surprised me in all many regards. One of the best aspects of the film is the strong thematic elements and commentary about freedom, such as what is the price of freedom? What is freedom? Do we actually have freedom? What will you do for freedom? These are some of the thought-provoking questions Captain America: The Winter Soldier asks that is what elevates the movie above the typical action flick.

Plot: 10/10- Captain America: The Winter Soldier's plot is perfectly paced. Not for a single instant did the film slow down too much or speed up to fast, it was absolutely perfect. As sated previously, the Winter Soldier was incredibly strong thematically. While other comic book movies have had strong themes, The Winter Soldier is the one that resonated with me the most and the one that I believe is the most relevant and thought-provoking. The tone of the film is decidedly darker, yet never too dark, and in fact, the movie less a comic book movie and more a thriller with elements of espionage and political commentary.
In terms of the plot, the movie takes huge risks, all of which will be discussed in a spoiler post. Basically, watch the movie; it is just as important to the Avengers universe as everyone says it is. Also, the film ties-in brilliantly with the Agents of SHIELD TV series, and viewers of the series will have even more layers to delve into.

Characterization: 10/10- Overall, every character was well served and adequately balanced in terms of the amount of screen-time and development between the characters. In the Marvel-Cinematic-Universe, Iron Man is my favorite character, but in the comics Captain America has been my favorite since I started reading comics when I was a kid. Because of this, I expected the movie to ruin Cap's character and core values, but the Russo brother's pull it off. The film portrays the Man-Out-Time aspect flawlessly, even better than many of the comics. Captain America's soldier aspects still resonate today as he can still relate to modern war vets and the film explores that element. Also, unlike basically every other hero, Captain America is a different type of hero. He is a soldier, and he kills without remorse because this is war.Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow is brilliantly realized in the film. While she is ever so slightly different than how she was in The Avengers, she is allowed to be a little more playful and fun, yet still entirely BA. The Winter Soldier has been compared to the T-1000 from Terminator 2, and that is an accurate comparison. He is the best Marvel villain since Loki, and his backstory is well portrayed. Sam Wilson / Falcon is given a lot of great characterization as well. As to not spoil anything about the film, this is the end of the character discussions.

Action: 10/10- Wow! Just wow! Not since The Avengers have I been this impressed by the action scenes of a film. The fight choreography is simply stunning! Captain America's fight style is fully realizing and perfected. His fighting style is brutal, and he does not hold back. Cap kills a lot of people and the movie does not hold back in terms of violence either. For the first time since The Avengers, I was complete and utterly involved in the action scenes. I literally moved around in my seat while watching the movie during the action scenes without even realizing it for a while. Dare I say that the action is the best that I have seen in an American action movie?

Acting: 10/10- Chris Evans owns the role! He steps up his acting big time as he is finally able to truly embody the character of Captain America. Scarlett Johansson continues to remind me why she is my favorite young actress in the business, as she makes Natasha Romanoff fun yet BA. The actor for The Winter Soldier is incredibly menacing, but I will not name the actor because that would be spoilers. Samuel L. Jackson actually underplays his role brilliantly. This is one of his best performances I have seen from Jackson to date. Anthony Mackie also continues to remind me why he is one of my favorite underused actors, as he makes so much more of an impression than Iron Man's sidekick Don Cheadle. In addition all these great performances, Robert Redford's veteran presence is more than welcome, and the acting all around is just top notch.

Special effects: 9.9/10- Thanks to the surprisingly grounded nature of the film, almost all of the effects are believable. Only in one scene did the effects falter, and it would be barely noticeable by most audience members. In addition to the impressive visuals, the film really shines in the audio department with Cap's shield and the Winter Soldier's arm having particularly distinct audio effects. The costume designs were top notch as well with Captain America finally finding the a practical, yet cool, costume. In IMAX, the sound design is even more apparent, and the 3D adds to the action scenes without being blurry or distracting. Also, the cinematography was great.

Soundtrack: 9.7/10- While I would have liked Alan Silvestri to have returned to score the film, Henry Jackman's score fits the more political thriller nature of the Winter Soldier. Even though the soundtrack is not Marvel's best, it is real top notch material. Update: After listening to the entire soundtrack multiple times today while studying for college, I have to like the score significantly more. The simplistic tracks reminded me of something from the Terminator films, as it is used to enhance the viewer's experience of the film, particularly during the more tension filled scenes.

Humor: 8.2/10- Surprisingly, the film is low on humor. While there are a couple of jokes here and there as well as some great banter, (and the Stan Lee cameo!), the film was much more serious, which turned out to be for the best. Also, the running joke of Natasha trying to get Cap a girlfriend was great.

Overall: 10/10- Overall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the most flawless film that I have seen in a long time, and it actually has a strong message. There is absolutely nothing that I can complain about in the film. I do not give out 10s lightly with only eleven films to ever reach such a high ranking, and with its powerful themes and expert characterization, The Winter Soldier is more than deserving of such a ranking. While The Avengers is still Marvel's best, The Winter Soldier is a true game changer that sets itself apart from all other comic book movies and movies in general.

Closing comments: If you have not seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier yet, stop whatever you are doing and go see it now! Seriously, go watch it! Even if you somehow dislike the story, the action and overall entertainment is more than worth your time and money. But honestly, my review does not do the film nearly enough justice. Like the Matrix, "You have to see it for yourself."

Recommended for: Everyone, Marvel fans, Action fans, Thriller fans,

Please check back tomorrow and Thursday for a discussion of the secrets and the after credits scene.

19 comments:

The film was awesome, really. I can't see how Critics were finding problems in the movie, 'cos I sure didn't have any complaints about the movie. I'm not sure where this movie would stand on my favorite Marvel movie list, because I love all of them (yes, even Iron Man 2. Though, not as much as Iron Man 3), but this is definitely one of their best, and that's saying a lot. So far, since Avengers, Marvel has been stepping it up for Phase 2. At this rate, I can't wait to see what Phase 3 will bring. I honestly thought that Natasha had changed too, and she was definitely not as serious as she was in the last couple of movies. The Cap has really grown on me, and is slowly becoming one of my favorite Marvel Movie favorite heroes, to be honest. I really liked Sam's character, and how he was a Vet, and worked at the VA helping other vets. With Fury, it's a different story. (Spoilers for Agents of SHIELD) From watching AOS, I don't like Fury as much as I did in Avengers, I thought he was cool in that one, but even from what I know he's done, I still liked his character, though not nearly as much, although he did have some funny scenes. *End Spoilers* with the Winter Soldier, I was going between 'Bad [spoilers]!' and 'ooh, that's quite menacing...' with Pierce, he just had that...I dunno, *Spoilers* villain-y feel to him, if I say so. In that area, it wasn't quite a shock. Though some of the scenes in his house was quite shocking...*End Spoilers*. I'm really glad to see you enjoyed the movie. I'm glad this is the first movie I've seen in theaters this year, because it's been great. Can't wait to what else Marvel has to bring. Excellent Review, James!

-Tegan

P.S. The action was awesome, really awesome. Even if some had my 'mini-Mythbuster' senses tingling. Like the whole *Spoilers* jumping out of the plane thing into the water, 'cos, I'm pretty sure he would've died from that. But this is a movie, so, well, there you go. *End of Spoilers*

I haven't seen much of Doc Strange (besides in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, and I think he made an appearance in Spider-Girl too), but I did catch that reference. You know, I didn't really think of that, but the characters seemed a lot more...releaxed in this movie. I know, that's what really shocked me, I was just like 'whoa' when he killed her. Really showed just how evil he was, just killing someone he knew very well without remorse. Er, sorry 'bout the long comment. I talk a lot, and apparently type a lot as well. It don't seem to be that long until I press that 'publish' button, and it's like 'oh, that ended up to be quite long...' I thought about cos he was a supersolider, and the fact that it was a comic-book movie, that might be why he survived, so I let it slid. Plus the how boat scene was pretty cool. I love how Natasha kept trying to find him a date throughout the film.

Yay, I'm glad you liked it so much! Great review, I want to go watch it again right now -- well, I kinda have been ever since I saw it, but still. I think my absolute favorite thing about this movie is exactly what you said about Evans finally being able to fully embody the character of Cap. He was never even close to bad in the previous films, but now the character seems complete, and fully realized. It was also a fantastic choice to put Scarlett Johansson in this movie. Her and Cap's relationship was just perfect. And the fight choreography just blew me away, and it's hard to impress me with action! Three words: The elevator scene. :D

Thanks! I do too! I am at least buying the movie as soon as it comes out. Indeed, Evans really nailed it this time around. He was so good! I liked Cap and Widow's relationship too, they played off each other. That elevator scene was amazing! :D

Great review, glad you enjoyed the movie!! :D With all the good reviews I've seen for the film, I definitely can't wait to see it! I really started liking Captain America in the Avengers films, so I am looking forward to seeing more of his development. I'm also very excited about seeing Black Widow again(and now I want her to be given a movie! :D), since she's one of my favorites, and I can't wait to see Falcon, since I've heard some good things about him. I think I will also like the political side of things, since I'm into politics and I like a good discussion on relevant issues. Hopefully, I can go see the film this week. :)

Thanks! :D Yes, you need to watch the movie! Especially before you watch this week's episode of Agents of SHIELD. For the most part, I doubt you will be disappointed by Black Widow in the movie. :) I am not extremely into politics but since I am taking a government course in college right now, there are some terms and other themes that are referenced that I noticed, so you should definitely find something to like. :)

The fight choreography is amazing -- and I wish I could have seen it better! When will directors give up their ridiculous obsession with shaky-cams? Grumble grumble.

But overall, yes, such a strong movie. A little rambly, I felt, and the Winter Soldier felt kind of superfluous until the end, more like a lackey than a villain. But Cap and Natasha were wonderful, the acting was splendid, and overall I liked it better than the first Cap movie. Like the first Cap movie, though, I felt like it suffered a little from being a springboard for what's to come, which is probably why it felt a little rambly to me. Hard to tell a story AND set up more stories at the same time -- I wish Joss had been a little more involved with the script, since he's one of the best at that.

I am the type of person that notices shaky-cam or bad action direction, but I really didn't see any in the movie.

Well, the point is kind that the Winter Soldier is a weapon that is used by HYRDA and the Soviets, which is why he is a redeemable character. I loved the "Public displays of affection" tactic scene between the two, as well as the New Jersey joke. I do agree that the first basically had to setup the Avengers, so it was not as great as it could have been.

Awesome review James! I loved The Winter Soldier. I think the action scenes in it are my favorite, ever. :) They were beautifully done. It's definitely high, high up in my list of movies. And I really like what you said at the top about the questions The Winter Soldier asks and the themes throughout it, they added a lot to the film.

Your review is so much more a review then mine 8-D I enjoyed it. I really liked the movie. Even more than the first. I think that, next to The Avengers, it is my favourite Marvel movie so far. (Out of the ones I've seen.) Just everything about it, it was amazing and I can't wait for it to come out so I can buy it and see it again.